Total pages in book: 35
Estimated words: 33764 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 169(@200wpm)___ 135(@250wpm)___ 113(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 33764 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 169(@200wpm)___ 135(@250wpm)___ 113(@300wpm)
“Kind of hard to knock off your own son-in-law.”
“I know. I know. I’m telling ya, this whole thing is messing with my damn head. It was just a blink ago that she was put in my arms for the first time. I ‘bout didn’t make it through that, and now, she’s about to have a kid of her own.”
“I don’t get what you’re worried about,” Dad replied. “Way I remember it, you did damn good when Mia was born. Hell, you never skipped a beat. You just did what you needed to do, just like you always do.”
“But this is different. I’m about to be a grandfather, and that’s not something I’m ready for.”
“You’re gonna be fine,” Mom assured him.
“You aren’t getting me.” He looked between the three of us, searching for the words. “Last night, I was watching TV, and this diaper commercial came on. Just a stupid, regular commercial. And next thing I know, I was getting a knot in my fucking throat. What the hell was that?”
“It’s fatherhood part two.” Dad chuckled, crossing his arms. “But you don’t gotta worry. This is gonna be a breeze. You don’t have to worry about all the late-night feedings or changing diapers at four a.m. You get to leave all the parenting BS to Wrath and Mia and sit back and enjoy.”
“Not sure I know how to do that.”
“You just gotta lean in, brother.” Dad chuckled as he told him, “It won’t be any time before this kid has you wrapped around his finger, just like Mia did. Just wait and see.”
“Yeah, we’ll see about that.” Stitch groaned, then glanced up, eyes fierce. “So, what about that breakfast.”
“Coming right up.”
Dad walked over to the stove, and five minutes later, I had one of his biscuits in my hand and my day was made. As soon as we finished eating, we said our goodbyes to Mom and headed over to the clubhouse. Dad wasn’t exaggerating when he said we were going to have a busy one. Hell, we were all over the place.
One minute, we were making plans for the upcoming holidays, and then, there was the big meet with Maltese. He worked for Cardelli—a leader of one the most notorious Italian mafias, and he was coming to discuss a possible business opportunity. Dad called us all into church, and we’d just started to sit down when Bones turned to Stitch and asked, “Are we really considering this?”
Bones was Stitch’s son, and he’d taken Big’s place as the club’s hacker. Understanding his concern, Stitch gave him a stern look and said, “Prez wouldn’t have called a meet if we weren’t.”
“But now?” Bones narrowed. “Hell, the timing couldn’t be worse.”
“You worried you won’t get your turkey time,” Grim teased.
“That’s the least of my worries.” He turned to his father as he urged, “Do you know the kind of stuff Cardelli pulls?”
Stitch leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms over his broad chest, his expression hardening. “I know all about Cardelli and the shit he pulls, son. That’s one of the many reasons why we’re having this conversation.”
“But why waste our time?” Bones shook his head and grumbled, “Cardelli has no code. He takes out anyone who stands in his way, and that includes women and children. You really think we should trust someone like that?”
The air became thick with the weight of the decision in front of us. Prez remained silent. His gaze was calculating as he tapped his fingers lightly on the table's edge. His voice was low but commanding as he replied, “We know very well who Cardelli is and what he’s capable of, and he knows the same about us.”
“And this is just an opportunity.” Savage was Cotton’s son and the club’s new VP. He had a good head on his shoulders, so I trusted that he knew what he was talking about when he said, “It doesn’t mean we have to accept. But if we turn him away without hearing him out, we’ve put a target on our backs.”
“Exactly.” Prez sounded irritated as he continued, “We’ve met with Maltese before. He’s never crossed any lines, so we owe him the respect to at least hear him out.”
I could feel the tension in the room escalating, and I was over it. I wanted to know what we were getting into, so I leaned forward and asked, “What exactly is this ‘opportunity’ we’re talking about?”
Dad held my gaze for a long moment before answering. “Cardelli wants distribution. He’s looking for partners outside his own territory to expand into ours. Maltese is here to propose a partnership. We give him channels for his… products, and in return, we get a cut. A big one.”
Savage and Wrath shifted uncomfortably in their seats. Bones clenched his fists as he asked the question we were all thinking—"What’s he wanting us to distribute? Because if it has to do with any kind of trafficking, I’m out.”